Taiwan medical costs soar 4.47% in March, reach 18-year high

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) announced on Tuesday (April 9) that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for March showed a 4.47% year-on-year increase in medical costs, the highest in 18 years.

Senior Specialist Tsao Chih-hung of the DGBAS attributed the rise to the implementation of the New Health Insurance Co-payment System in July last year.

The new system increased the co-payment for medication under National Health Insurance(NHI) and emergency services, which rose 8.77% year-on-year in March.

Additionally, the registration fee for clinics has seen a year-on-year increase of 10% from January to March this year, leading to a 4.47% increase in medical costs. This is significantly higher than the average annual increase of approximately 1.25% over the past decade.

The March CPI showed a year-on-year increase of 2.14%, slightly lower than the average of 2.43% in January and February. The increase in dining-out costs in March dropped to 3.49% due to a decrease in egg prices and a high base period, the lowest in over two years. Moreover, the cost of increase in 17 essential commodities dropped to 1.17%, the lowest in 39 months.

Despite the slight decrease in dining-out costs and a 13-month consecutive decline in the import price index, which has helped alleviate domestic price pressures, Tsao warned that inflationary pressures remain.

The senior specialist noted that the prices of services such as medical costs, rent, and dining out are still high and rigid, and will continue to be closely monitored.